Stage 6, the Month of June

Haven’t we been through enough already?!

This was my first thought as I looked at Stage 6, known as Struggle. It is also sometimes called the Dragon Fight, a stage connected to tension, opposition, boundaries, and the courage to meet what stands in our way.

At first glance, this may not sound very June-like.

Numerologically, the number 6 often points us toward nurturing, care, harmony, devotion, and the heart of home. So here we are, standing between struggle and harmony, between the dragon and the hearth, between the need to protect ourselves and the longing to belong.

At first, these energies may appear to be opposites.

Yet maybe this is part of the invitation of a Stage 6 month.

Stage 6 is not about fighting for the sake of fighting. It is about meeting conflict, tension, boundaries, and inner opposition in a more conscious way. It asks us to notice what is pulling at us, what is asking to be faced, and where we may be ready to stand more fully in ourselves.

Perhaps struggle is not always a sign that something has gone wrong. Sometimes, struggle appears when something within us is trying to become more whole. Sometimes it arrives when an old pattern no longer fits, or when silence has become too small.

In this way, struggle is not the opposite of care.

Maybe struggle is the way care learns to grow a spine.

Healthy nurturing sometimes requires boundaries. Harmony is not the absence of conflict. Devotion to the self may require a holy little “no.”

Maybe this is where Stage 6 meets June.

Part of me is ready for summer. I want to let go, feel free from tasks, take in the sun, and follow the light. I want ease. I want movement. I want to stop carrying so much.

And yet, life still asks me to be responsible. To care. To tend to what needs tending.

As if I couldn’t.

So yes, I feel restless. Tired. Excited. And done.

This is not always a balanced place to be. Sometimes when we are this tired, we do not want to think. We only want to move. Jump into summer. Push for fun. Get away. Spend money we may not feel free to spend. Or work harder because stopping feels impossible.

Stage 6 may show up in this very human place, where one part of us wants freedom and another part feels bound by responsibility.

The work may not be to choose one and reject the other.

The work may be to listen for the boundary, the need, and the truth underneath both.

This may look different for each of us, of course it will.

It may look like saying no, choosing rest, naming what is no longer workable, or holding compassion without collapsing.

It may look like noticing the urge to push past your limits in the name of fun, only to realize your body is asking for something softer.

It may look like wanting to run toward the sun, while also needing to make wise choices about time, money, energy, and care.

Stage 6 can feel like a Hero’s Journey moment. We are asked to face the dragon and find the Self in the middle of tension and stress. Not the performative self. Not the pleasing self. Not the self that survives by staying quiet.

The deeper Self.

The one that says, “Here I am. This is what matters. This is where I stand.”

Because this is also a 6 month, the invitation is to remember that truth can be spoken with care. We can stand up for ourselves without losing our hearts.

As we move through June, I invite you to notice where struggle is showing up, not as punishment, but as information.

Place a hand on your body and ask gently:

Where do I feel the tension of opposites within me?

What part of me is asking to be protected?

What boundary might actually be an act of love?

What dragon am I ready to face, not to destroy it, but to understand what it has been guarding?

Stage 6 reminds us that care without boundaries can become self-abandonment. Struggle without love can become armor.

This month, may we practice both courage and tenderness.

May we stand up for ourselves without losing our hearts.

And may we remember that sometimes the dragon is not here to defeat us. Sometimes it is here to help us come home to ourselves.

With warmth,

About the author

Mari Grande is a licensed Creative Arts Therapist, coach, and founder of Creative Healing Integration, Inc.
Through The Mandala Corner and her coaching programs, she helps people reconnect with creativity, clarity, and healing in everyday life.